Malaysia is one of South East Asia’s most underrated destinations, blending buzzing cities, beautiful beaches and rich cultural diversity with seriously good food. And don’t forget Malaysian Borneo: home to ancient rainforests and wild orangutans.
Malaysia is easy to navigate, but distances can be bigger than they look on the map.
For longer journeys, domestic flights are often the most practical choice. This is especially true if you’re travelling between Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, as you’ll need to fly to reach Sabah or Sarawak. You can search using Skyscanner.
If you’d rather keep your feet on the ground, Malaysia’s bus network is excellent. Coaches are modern, air conditioned and far more comfortable than you might expect. Routes between Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh and Malacca are straightforward and affordable, making overland travel an easy option. The ETS train line along the west coast is also reliable and a relaxed way to travel between major hubs.
In cities, Grab is widely used and removes the stress of negotiating fares. It’s reliable, reasonably priced and available in most urban areas, including Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kota Kinabalu (Borneo).
Kuala Lumpur has a well connected rail network including the MRT, LRT and Monorail.
Car hire is useful once you leave the cities. It’s particularly helpful in places like Langkawi, where public transport is limited, or if you want flexibility in rural Sabah and Sarawak. Roads are generally in good condition and, like much of South East Asia, Malaysia drives on the left.
On the islands and in smaller towns, scooters are common and give you freedom to explore at your own pace. Just make sure you’re insured and always wear a helmet.
Malaysia has two main monsoon systems, which means the “best” time to visit depends on which coast or region you’re heading to. In general, the most popular time to visit Peninsular Malaysia is December to April, when the west coast enjoys drier weather, plenty of sunshine and calmer seas.
From May to September, the west coast including Langkawi and Penang remains relatively dry, although temperatures and humidity climb. Meanwhile, the east coast including the Perhentian Islands and Tioman is at its best from March to September, with clear skies and ideal diving conditions.
The northeast monsoon runs roughly from November to February and heavily affects the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. During this period, many island resorts close and boat services can be suspended due to rough seas. The west coast, however, usually remains accessible year round with only short tropical downpours.
Over in Malaysian Borneo, the climate is slightly different again. In Sabah and Sarawak, rainfall is possible at any time of year due to the rainforest climate. That said, March to October is generally considered the driest and best period for wildlife spotting, hiking and diving around places like Kota Kinabalu and the Kinabatangan River. The wettest months tend to be November to February, though rain often comes in heavy bursts rather than all day showers.
There are plenty of beautiful accommodation options in Malaysia to suit every budget, from luxury resorts to backpacker hostels. The main thing to look out for is fake reviews, so read these carefully and watch out for unnatural-sounding language. If it sounds fake, it probably is! I always book my accommodation through trusted providers like booking.com and Hostelworld, but always read the reviews carefully.
Most visitors to Malaysia for tourism will need to complete a Digital Arrival Card before arrival, so best to check before you travel.
I always recommend checking the official government advice from your own country of citizenship when applying for a visa, for anywhere. For example, I’m from the UK so I use the UK Government’s Foreign travel advice website, and navigate to the “Entry requirements” section of the country I wish to visit. That will show me the correct links to use to apply for a visa officially, without being scammed. E.g. “Malaysia: Entry requirements”.
Be aware that if you just google “Malaysia visa”, you’ll find lots of 3rd party websites offering to do the application for you, which at best will charge you quite a lot of money and at worst may scam you completely.
If you would rather someone else take care of the application for you to save you time and hassle, I can recommend iVisa. iVisa offer an end-to-end visa application service where they take care of the entire application for you. You just need to sign up via their website and fill out the information they need from you for the application. Note that they charge a fee for this service, so it will be more expensive that applying directly yourself.
Here are some of the resources I’ve found particularly useful for travelling in Malaysia. Download the apps before you go to ensure a smooth and stress-free experience! Check out my Useful Travel Resources page for my complete go-to list of websites and apps.
Currency:
Malaysian ringgit (MYR)
Capital City:
Kuala Lumpur
Languages:
Bahasa Malaysia (Malay)
